The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

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Monday, April 23, 2018

A Republican Caucus’s Convention at a Notorious Mosque - Leo Hohmann

by Leo Hohmann

At least half a dozen known terrorists have attended Dar al-Farooq in recent years.

The Liberty Caucus of the Minnesota Republican Party will hold
its annual convention May 12 at the Dar al-Farooq Community Center, part
of the notorious Bloomington mosque that has been at the center of
controversy for years.

Many Minnesota Republicans are taking
to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the decision by
Caucus Chairman Zavier Bicott to hold the convention at Dar al-Farooq.
At least half a dozen known terrorists have attended the mosque in
recent years, including Adnan Farah and his brother, Mohamed Farah, who
pleaded guilty in April 2016 to providing material support to the
Islamic State, also called ISIS.

Dar al-Farooq's former imam,
Waleed Idris al-Maneesey (also spelled Manisi), preaches Sharia law is
superior to man-made law and that Allah sanctions the slaughter of Jews
who cause "corruption" on earth, according to a report by IPT News.

The Egyptian-born Maneesey authored a paper for the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA), where he sits on the fatwa committee. Muslims should refrain from participating in non-Islamic courts that do not follow Sharia, he wrote, particularly those in the West guided by "man-made" law.

Maneesey remains tightly connected to Dar al-Farooq and in fact is
scheduled to be one of two "honored guest speakers" there on April 23,
according to the mosque's Facebook page.

"This is very likely the most dangerous mosque in the upper Midwest,"
said Debra Anderson, who heads the Minnesota chapter of ACT For America,
a national organization that opposes the advancement of Sharia at the
state and local levels.

But for Bicott, it's all about
spreading his libertarian philosophy to a segment of American society
that he admits has not been exposed to the message of individual
liberty.

"The Republican Liberty Caucus is the conscience of
the Republican Party in Minnesota," Bicott said. "Individual liberty is
what brings us together, the idea that we all want to live free. We need
to find ways to grow the party and give courage to Muslim Republicans
to stand up in their community and say: ‘I’m a Republican and I believe
in individual liberty.'”

Critics say that's naïve. Few rank
and file members of the mosque will likely even show up for the Liberty
Caucus convention and those who do will likely not be voting Republican
anytime soon, they say.

Bicott also chairs the GOP's State
Senate District 50, which includes east Bloomington where Dar al-Farooq
is located. He said he has visited the mosque five times, strictly on
party business, and has developed "a good relationship" with the
leaders.

Bicott has never read the Quran or the hadiths, and
recently started reading the Bible for the first time. He has no
religious leanings whatsoever.

"I'm on Leviticus now and when
I'm done with the Bible I plan to read the Quran. I don’t follow any
particular faith. It's not a part of my life," he said. "But I want to
know the stories and be able to relate to people to whom it is
important."

The decision to have Dar al-Farooq host the convention was announced in a press release Monday and by Tuesday morning Bicott said his phone was ringing off the hook with irate Republicans.

He said his decision, fully supported by the Caucus's board of
directors, had nothing to do with the fact that the mosque was bombed
last August by two rightwing extremists from Illinois (no injuries were
incurred but the mosque was damaged).

"They have an imam and
then a community center, they also have a charter school there, and so
after talking with them about the zoning and its effect on amenities, we
were talking about caucuses in Minnesota, and they were like 'oh, how
come Republicans never come talk to us? Democrats always come talk to us
with a smile on their face,'" Bicott said.

Bicott described himself as "very libertarian" in his outlook on life.

"I'm always open to talking to people, and I have to be very aware of
the different factions I represent in my district; some are open-minded
about different philosophies and so I want to teach the libertarian
philosophy to people who maybe haven't been exposed to it."

Bicott said mosque leaders told him the congregation is made up of more than just Democrats.

A Pew Research survey
in 2017 found 66 percent of Muslim-Americans nationwide prefer the
Democrat Party, 20 percent lean independent and only 13 percent prefer
the Republican Party. Only 19 percent of U.S. Muslims said they approved
of the job President Trump is doing.

According to the Counter Jihad Report, there are more than 90 Muslims running for political office nationwide, almost all of them Democrats.

Bicott said he has not inquired of the Bloomington mosque on what
percentage of its members consider themselves Republicans or would even
be open to the possibility of becoming Republican, but he believes many
are curious about what the party stands for.

He said he does
not have any grand expectations for his May 12 outreach. But he says
somebody from the GOP needs to break the ice and it might as well be
him.

"I just believe, hey, listen to the principles of
individual liberty and what liberty has to offer and maybe some will
decide to join us," Bicott said.

"Why let Democrats control
that entire process? I want to go and share liberty principles, it can't
just be Democrats who are sharing their message with Muslims. There are
a lot of refugees and immigrants drawn to our state. It is an
attractive place because of the social services we have in place, so I
want to teach them about individual liberty. We may not win them over in
the first generation but if you don't share your message, then we are
never going to win. You are going to lose every time because you don't
even give yourself a chance to win."

Bicott's resume includes a
stint on the human rights commission for the City of Bloomington. He
also helped lead the Minnesota campaign for Sen. Rand Paul's
presidential bid.

Asked if he knew of any Muslim-majority
nations where the concept of individual liberty was widely respected, he
answered honestly.

"No," he said. "In fact I've been getting
calls all morning and someone asked me, 'can you show me one place where
it has proved successful to assimilate Muslim immigrants into a
democratic society?' My answer was America. We are the one place."

"Tell me where, tell me how?" the caller asked.

"Not all Muslim men will shake hands with a women, they're not allowed
to drive, not allowed to vote in some countries. But we are a melting
pot," Bicott told the caller. "This is just a very beginning. How many
years have they been in America, how many opportunities have they had to
learn about individual liberty? I think it's better that we go and
teach and share with them our vision of liberty, of less government in
people's lives, and in the end at least we can say we tried. They can't
say we never went and tried to share our message of freedom and liberty
with them.

"Unless you can share the principles of liberty and
constitutional principles, you can't just assume they are going to go
and learn it on their own."

Still, critics say that by holding
a Republican convention at a Sharia-compliant Islamic center, the party
is giving legitimacy to a system that is antithetical to the principles
found in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

One of his fiercest critics is Minnesota Republican Robert Carrillo.

Carrillo said he had a 40-minute phone conversation with Bicott Tuesday morning and found him "incredibly naïve."

"He is so wet behind the ears, such that, even his very own survival
skills have been culled," said Carrillo. "His time served as a member of
the human race on this planet is so short, that he actually believes
his group's special embrace of this mosque and their members will win
them over into the light of liberty-loving converts."

But other Minnesotans are not so fast to write off Bicott's "crazy" idea.

"Initially I thought it was crazy too," stated Kathy Schaunaman in a Facebook post.
"But maybe the best thing would be if there were many Republican
Muslims. Perhaps make them more American. Just a thought. This party has
been missing the boat for years on bringing in Hispanics. When liberals
are totally in charge, kiss every freedom goodbye – that would be the
Democratic Party."

Because of his own lack of religious upbringing, some believe Bicott is the perfect candidate for conversion to Islam.

Bicott says hell will freeze over before that happens.

"Some have told me, 'oh, they want to convert you to Islam, that's the
only reason they are inviting you in.' I'm not going to convert to
Islam. It will be interesting to see the reception I get. You can't just
live in a bubble. You have to reach out to people."

Leo HohmannSource: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/269937/republican-caucuss-convention-notorious-mosque-leo-hohmann Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.